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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Tips for a Slimmer T-Day Dinner

When it comes to the turkey say good bye
to the thighs! The dark meat has almost twice the amount of fat as the breast
meat.

Turkey breasts and thighs vary moderately
when it comes to calories. A 3-ounce serving of breasts contains 170 calories,
while this same amount of thigh contains 210 calories. In similar fashion to
carb content, the calories will change if you apply some form of sauce or
topping to the turkey. Skip teh gravy – it’s just fat and white flour. Here’s a
hint – if you brine the turkey before cooking it will be juicy and not need any
gravy! Gravy equals about 100 calories a serving and it’s mostly sodium.

Yo just saved about 150 calories! We’re
down to about 2600 calories and dropping! Remember it’s important to plan
ahead! And for a juicier turkey - brine it! See brinng below.

For
the aromatics:

Directions

Begin
thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine
the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and
candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to
dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool
to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early
on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine
the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with
innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird
to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for
8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat
the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out
with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place
the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper
towels.

Combine
the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish
and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's
cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and
coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast
the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert
a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven
temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161
degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of
roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl
for 15 minutes before carving.

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Welcome to my website and the world of Natural Health.

Natural Health or Naturopathy is the path of obtaining balance through diet, exercise, relaxation, positive attitudes and appreciation for life. Naturopathy teaches us that we are three parts; body, mind and spirit, and it is the balancing of all three that brings about perfect health.